Pranavi falters on the back nine, Diksha lies T-29 in Dublin

Dublin, Aug 30 (PTI) Indian golfer Pranavi Urs gave away all the gains she made on the first nine with three bogeys on her second nine to open the Women’s Irish Open with an even par 73.

Pranavi was 3-under through her first four holes with birdies on the 11th, 12th and the 13th. She then traded a bogey on 15th with a birdie on the 17th.

On her second nine, the front side of the Par-73 O’Meara Course at Carton House, she bogeyed fourth, eighth and ninth to be tied 45th after the first round.

A multiple winner on the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour in India, Pranavi is in her rookie season. She is making her first start since the Aramco Team Series London at the start of July and is hoping to get back to the form that saw her bag three Top-10s in the first half of the season.

Compatriot Diksha Dagar, who is coming from starts in two Majors and the Paris Olympics, carded a 1-under 72 which included three birdies and two bogeys. She sits at T-29.

While Tvesa Malik (76) was T-93 and Ridhima Dilawari (79) was T-128th.

Three players are tied on five-under-par at the top. Italy’s Alessandra Fanali, Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom and Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes all shot opening rounds of 68.

Fanali got off to a hot start with birdies on her first two holes, she then added two more on the fourth and sixth before dropping her first shot of the day on the eighth.

The Olympian continued her form rolling in birdies on the 11th and 13th holes to sit at the top of the leaderboard on five-under-par.

Wikstrom rolled in four birdies on her front nine, she dropped shots on the 14th and 18th but also made birdies on 10th, 12th and 17th to stake claim on the lead.

Galmes was one of the later groups in the day and joined Fanali and Wikstrom with her own round of 68 (-5).

Three players are in a share of fourth place one shot further back with French duo Pauline Roussin-Bouchard and Agathe Sauzon alongside Germany’s Carolin Kauffmann on four-under-par.